Bartlett Lodge Algonquin Park
FLASH THIS
The year 2012 is the 100th Anniversary of painter Tom Thomson’s first visit to Algonquin Provincial Park. Thomson was said to have drowned in Canoe Lake in 1917. Great contraversary surrounds his untimely death.
It’s time to reserve your campground space! http://www.ontarioparks.com/english/reservations.html
Camping Contest to celebrate 2013! http://algonquinoutfitters.com/contests/rules-regulations/
Algonquin Park suffered major road closure flooding. Some roads are still undergoing repairs and are CLOSED.
Closed Areas
The following areas are closed and barricaded until flooding related damage can be repaired. Repair work is ongoing. Check back for updates.
Closed Trails
Copyright © 2012 by May Georgina DeLory
I recall the very first school trip to nature. The teacher was and still is my fav. I believe she was from Sweden. Stern but very fair woman. I was fascinated by the pond our class visited. I had no idea what a guppie was. I learned a lot out in nature on this school day trip.
Keep in mind that nature is not just for the experienced traveller: it’s for all of us to experience and learn at our own pace and to protect flora and fauna. These pictures reveal one of the most pleasant fall days spent in northern Ontario away from my city home. My adult daughter and I travelled from Toronto, Ontario, Canada on the Northlander train from Union Staion at Toronto to Algonquin Park. We travelled to Huntsville, Ontario in what is known as “cottage” country. World renowned Algonquin Park is here. The Group of Seven travelled to Algonquin Park in the early nineteen hundreds to sketch and paint the terrain of their homeland — Canada — and Ontario’s northland wilderness. The genius of the Group of Seven covered 1920 to 1933 and consisted of members’ Fred Varley, Frank Carmichael, A. Y. Jackson, Lawren Harris, Frank Johnston, Arthur Lismer and J. E. H. MacDonald – all very young men when they began to paint as members of a group. Thom Thomson, artist, woodsman and wilderness guide, was never a member of the Group of Seven. Had Thomson not died he surely would have been brought into the fold. “…his contribution to the movement…cannot be measured.” - A. Y. Jackson. Huntsville, Ontario is home to the Group of Seven art gallery.
Art Centre manager, Joel Irwin
Algonquin Art Centre
The Algonquin Art Centre celebrates in 2012 the Year of Water. One of the centre’s mandates is to make the Art Centre facility available to everyone; it is wheelchair accessible and the entrance fee is a voluntary admission, where your contribution will be put towards the enhancement of this “open-concept” project. This is where you’ll see the famous Algonquin Park painted canoe!
The Algonquin Art Centre has an indoor gallery, consisting of three wings and a boutique; an outdoor gallery; and a “Green” Gazebo where you can treat yourself to various treats, teas and coffees, or participate in one of the many scheduled art activities for both adults and children., such as painting, paddle painting design, create a mobile, work in clay (class $15. take home your work of clay art!) and much more. There is a cost to each art class. Telephone 1-855-221-2278. Joel Irwin is the art centre’s manager.
Algonquin Art Centre Operating Hours & Dates
Open June 1 to October 21 on a yearly basis. Open 10: am to 5:pm. Access the West Gate of Algonquin Park from the town of Huntsville, Ontario (300km north of Toronto) highway #60. Once at Huntsville, drive 45km east of Huntsville (highway #60 & highway #11) into Algonquin Park. Art centre is on your right hand side. The West Gate features current information, permits, publications and bathroom facilities when entering Algonquin Park through the western end of Highway 60 near Dwight, ON. A wheelchair accessible facility.
You may also access Algonquin Park from the East Gate. Drive to the town of Whitney, Ontario (highways 60 & 127). The East Gate is 5km west of Whitney and 3km west of highways 60 & 127 juncture. The East Gate features current information, permits, publications and bathroom facilities when entering Algonquin Park through the eastern end of Highway 60 near Whitney, Ontario. A wheelchair accessible facility.
DAILY ART ACTIVITIES AT ALGONQUIN ART CENTRE
Daily Art Activities are open to visitors of all ages and are available every day throughout the summer from 10:30am to 4:30pm. Pre-registration is NOT required for daily art activities. You are welcome to drop in at your convenience and enjoy any of the activities for as long as you like. The daily art projects are ideal for both beginner painters and accomplished artists. All of the prices listed in the link include tax. http://www.algonquinartcentre.com/pages/programsDaily.php
ALGONQUIN PARK VISITOR CENTRE
Opened in 1993 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Algonquin Provincial Park and the entire Ontario provincial park system, the Algonquin Park Visitor Centre has world class exhibits on the Park’s natural and human history. The theatre presents films on travel adventure and history and special presentations. The centre offers cafeteria-style eating with homemade soups and the traditional fish and chips and hotdogs and hamburgers…not a bad selection. You won’t go hungry. Be sure to visit the outdoor lookout deck, gift shop…well worth a visit!
- Open year-round (including most holidays) but with reduced winter hours. See the Events Calendar for exact dates and hours of operation.
- The Algonquin Visitor Centre is located at km 43.0 of Highway 60 within Algonquin Park. Telephone 1-855-221-2278
- Latitude/Longitude: 45.583922°, -78.359455°
Bartlett Lodge, Algonquin Park
Bartlett Lodge celebrates 95-years in Algonquin Park – a delightful 46-guest lodge on Cache Lake. A private Bartlett Lodge boat takes guests from the small parking lot (inside Algonquin Park) across Cache Lake to the lodge…about a three-minute trip. The lodge is open May to October. No telephones or internet connection in the cabins…just the way we like it. Bartlett is an extremely peaceful spot. We visited just before the end of season. Many a wedding have taken place at Bartlett Lodge by the shore of pretty Cache Lake. Cabins are rustic-chic with log-burning stove, bathroom, bedroom (several cabins from one bedroom to three bedrooms), screened porch with comfortable seating to watch the sun set, and small kitchen to prepare coffee and tea. Meals are served at the lakefront main lodge. May I add Bartlett’s staff are friendly and seem to love their work…if one may even consider their time in such a magical ambiance mere “work”.
Canoe and lifejacket are supplied free at Bartlett for use while a guest at the lodge. Push paddle boats are free for use while at the lodge, too. We were over the moon when we spotted a lone stand-up paddler. This mode of water travel is almost silent. Again, just the way we like it. Bring your walking shoes as the walking trails winding throughout the forest at Bartlett are well worth the effort.
The A. Y. Jackson Room and Lawren Harris Room
Bartlett Lodge’s heritage 100-years-old log building accommodation offers a king-size bed that can easily be made into two singles, 3-piece bathroom, sitting area, small bar fridge, and a screened porch located on and facing a quiet bay on Cache Lake. Artwork by each of the artists will be featured in the rooms. Bartlett Lodge says: In keeping with Bartlett’s sustainable tourism philosophy, 80% of the materials used to build the artists studio will be recovered in previously used building materials.
Isabel’s cabin: Bartlett Lodge has relocated an historic log building to create a new guest lounge and two new guest rooms. We we visited the restoration was still in progress with a stone mason putting the last touches to a massive stone fireplace. Ah, we were disappointed we would have to wait until next season in order to sit quietly beside a crackling log piece of history, Cache Lake just outside the front door. The original building belonged to Isabel McLaughlin, a noted Canadian artist and daughter of R. S. McLaughlin, founder of General Motors of Canada. The original building was used by Isabel as a country retreat. Isabel entertained Lawren Harris, Arthur Lismer and A.Y. Jackson as well as many other well known 20th century Canadian Artists. The guest lounge will also have a small display of original art and antiques, some of which will be for sale. The theme of Bartlett Lodge’s 2012 Guest House art display is “Algonquin Park in Pencil”.
Glam Platform tenting makes for a unique and off-beat idea for a wedding honeymoon. The white platform tents are fully furnished and set on sturdy wood platforms in the open air within a few minutes’ stroll to the main lodge dining room. Breakfast is served in the main lodge. These tents are suitable for all ages and are also great for a family. What’s great is that there is a view of the lake from the tents. There are just a few platform tents on Bartlett’s property, so it all makes for intimate and peaceful accommodation. Kim and Marilyn Smith became the new owners of Bartlett Lodge in 1997. The Smiths also own Camp Tanamakoon in Algonquin Park.
Once arrived to Huntsville it’s about a fifteen-minute drive to the Bartlett dock where you’ll be picked up by private motor canoe. Just use the free telephone at the dock to let the lodge know you are ready to begin your Algonquin adventure. After our telephone call was placed to the lodge it wasn’t five-minutes until we were greeted by a vintage canoe. Another three-minutes and we were at the main lodge and ready to check in. A warm and friendly greeting with brief introduction to a stay at Bartlett Lodge and we were given the keys to our lakefront cabin. Down the stone walk towards our cabin the lake always at our side. From first glimspe we loved our cabin. Two seperate and large bedrooms decorated in pretty linens with a full and spacious bathroom with supplied soap and shower gel. We used the wood-burning stove in the living room in the evening just for the peaceful effect of a crackling fire. The screened porch overlooking the lake didn’t get any use from the two of us simply because we wanted to get in some long-needed exercise in the nearby forest beofre the first dinner call. The cabin was spotless and smelled clean and fresh and instantly erased all cares and stresses of our prior city existence mere hours before. It wasn’t long before we were in a canoe which was just outside out cabin and off in search of nature and wildlife; perhaps, we thought, coming out from the wilds to drink from the lake. Loons called out. We were in an Algonquin paradise.
Bartlett Lodge dining room caters to guests with allergies or special diet restriction. Just let the lodge know of your diet concerns when booking your reservation. Dress attire in the dining lodge is casual. No jacket and tie required (no short-shorts or cutoffs). The lodge operates on the bring-your-own bottle. Dining room staff is delighted to open and serve your bottle of wine. Staff will also serve your wine on the lodge’s lakefront dock. The tables and chairs are very comfortable and the ambiance romantic, especially with a setting sun. Breakfast is quite the event. We liked the fact that lake views are available from the dining room. Dining room tables are made from woods natural to Algonquin Park. No white tableclothes here…just rustic elegance. Choose from a full buffet breakfast with fresh fruit, vast selection of cheese, granola, yogurt, cold cereals, homemade Bartlett Lodge breads and baked items, a wide selection of juices and coffee and teas. Pancakes, specialty egg dishes with sausage and ham are available. Bartlett Lodge uses herbs and vegetables from their kitchen garden. Local produce from area farmers supply what the lodge cannot grow. Bartlett serves lake fish rather than ocean fish. A five-course dinner is quite special, made all the more special due to stunning lake views while you enjoy a gourmet meal. You’ll find Prince Edward Island mussels, duck agnalotti with fig sauce and fiddleheads, duck breast, rack of lamb, beef strip loin and homemade rosemary biscuits, apple butter as just some of Bartlett’s offerings. For cheese lovers try Devil’s Rock creamy blue cheese alone, on top of pancakes or to dress up a green salad. Desserts are a speciality at the lodge. www.bartlettlodge.com
Bartlett Lodge Algonquin Park
Algonquin Outfitters
Algonquin Outfitters has a real cool store in the town of Huntsville, Ontario (300 km north of the city of Toronto). Forgot to pack your comfy socks to keep your tooties cozy warm during overnight tenting adventures. No problem. Wide selection of stuff at the store. Within Algonquin Park you’ll find Algonquin Outfitters park location offers expert advice, supplies as well as day and overnight canoe and wilderness tours ready to kick start your Algonquin Park adventure. Afterall, the park is about 7,630 km (2,946 square miles), larger than Prince Edward Island on Canada’s east coast. There are about 2,000 canoe routes that Outfitters know like the back of their paddle, and about 1,200 lakes that these guys paddle day in and day out. There are three backpacking trail systems, 17 day-hiking trails, three Nordic ski trail routes and two mountain bike trail systems. Stand up paddle boats are selling like hot cakes this year. Interested in guided and unguided canoe trips, hiking, camping, or vintage maps…ask Algonquin Outfitters why doncha.
GROUP CAMP SITES
Algonquin Park interior camp sites have a limit of nine people and three tents per site. Algonquin Outfitters tells me smaller groups of less than 24 people are much easier to organize for interior canoe trips and help reduce the impact on Algonquin Park. A really good idea for a large canoe group who wish to stay together is a base camp canoe trip. The group camps on the same lake each night and the following morning heads out together. Algonquin Outfitters suggests one of the best spots to base camp a large group in the park is at Whitefish Group Campground. Eighteen sites support groups from 10 to 40 people. Reservations can be made by calling the park information line at (705) 633-5572.
Note from Algonquin Outfitters website: Overnight canoe trips: Enjoy the real Algonquin Park experience on a multi-day canoe trip into the heart of the park’s interior, only accessible by canoe. Algonquin Outfitters offers special rates and discounted outfitting packages for non-profit youth groups such as scouts, church youth groups and school outing clubs. Outfitters has hundreds of canoes, both big and small.
For Your Information
I got a fun and very informative tour with an Algonquin Park ranger. Algonquin Park has very special ecological and environmentally sensitive garbage bins. MOLOK BioSystem Deep Collection Technology bins collect paper recyclables, container recyclables, organic (where bins are made available) and regular garbage. The BioSystem makes use of the coolness of the earth and nature’s laws of gravity. Each bin container (1,3m (800 litres) is submerged into the ground to a depth of 2/3 of the bin container. The container bin holds a compostable bag (500 litres). Overall height of the container is 2700mm of which 1500mm is underground. It takes about 3 minutes to remove the compostable bag in each bin by hydrolic truck. Due to the MOLOK BioSystem design the bin is odourless and the above -ground special bin lid is resistant to wildlife. Please look and learn and use these bins correctly in order to help preserve Algonquin Park for the future. Bear and other critter safe. The bins look really nice up close and personal and are marked for the appropriate use of waste.
TRAVEL INFORMATION
Note: An overnight permit is required for each individual for each night of camping in Algonquin Park.
www.algonquinartcentre.com (free parking at the art centre)
http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/visit/locations/algonquin_visitor_centre.php Map of Visitors Centre.
http://www.algonquinoutfitters.com/ Please call (705) 635-2243 or toll-free in North America at 1-800-469-4948 to speak with Algonquin Outfitters.
Enter your art inspired by Algonquin Park art work in our contest. Choose to compete in our Professional, Amature or Kid catagories for some great prizes. See the “About this Contest” for full details at Algonquin Outfitter’s facebook page. http://algonquinoutfitters.com/
www.ontarionorthland.ca Union Station historic train terminal in Toronto (south end of city near Lake Ontario). Travel north to Ontario’s cottage and wilderness areas. (Ontario Northland train service is no longer in service as of September 28, 2012. Their bus service is still in service.)
www.bartlettlodge.com Log cabin & platform tenting guest lodge on Cache Lake in Algonquin Park. Fine dining.
Algonquin Park Art Centre entrance
Canoe Ghost!
Check out this prototype of Thomson’s canoe equipped with three touch screen displays that explore the mystery of Thomson’s death. Explore the project both in person and online at http://steersman.ca . Visitors to the web site can control the canoe’s screens remotely through their browsers, making this a veritable “ghost canoe.” Algonquin Visitor Centre, at km 43 on Highway 60.
http://www.tomthomson.org/event.php?Event=2582
Wolf Howls the entire family will enjoy. http://bit.ly/OrlXjI
Take the ParkBus to Algonquin Park. Try it from Toronto, Ontario. Telephone 1-800-928-7101 http://www.parkbus.ca/
Ontario Northland bus, Toronto, Ontario to Huntsville, Ontario (Algonquin Park). Note: For other departure points please visit Ontario Northland website. www.ontarionorthland.ca
http://youtu.be/in-RNuQMy6Y Take in a group wild wolf call.
Are you a Tom Thomson fan? Follow the journal entries from his last days at http://ttlastspring.com/ (or on Twitter @ttlastspring). Info supplied by Algonquin Outfitters.
FILM NORTH: Huntsville International Film Festival, is Muskoka’s first and only
international film festival. Film North will take place Thursday,
September 20th – Saturday, September 22nd, 2012, at the Algonquin theatre in
Huntsville, Ontario. The diverse program of forty-three films will be followed
by Q&A sessions with the attending filmmakers.”
Blog: http://film-north.blogspot.ca/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Film-North/210850165599097
Twitter:
@filmnorth
http://robefish.wordpress.com/
Canadian Canoe Museum / Pierre Trudeau / Peterbourgh, Ontario
Authentic Hudson’s Bay products now available at the Museum Store. http://canoemuseum.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/hbc-trading-post-at-the-canadian-canoe-museum/ …
http://travelglossary.wordpress.com/ Cycle routes in Quebec, Canada.
Photos Copyright © by May DeLory. All Rights Reserved.
A.Y. Jackson & Lawren Harris Room photo credit Copyright © by Bartlett Lodge
